The present invention relates to the mounting of electrically operated valves employed for controlling flow of hydraulic fluid in a fluid operated system and particularly a system of the type where the valve assembly has a body portion containing the fluid inlet and outlet ports thereon inserted into a receptacle or block having corresponding ports for connecting to the fluid operated system. The invention relates more particularly to solenoid operated valves of the type having the valve body inserted into a block or manifold for controlling flow of hydraulic fluid in an automatically shifted power transmission.
In automatic power transmissions employed in current production of some vehicles such as passenger cars and light trucks, the shifting of the automatic transmission is controlled by a plurality of valves mounted on a manifold with each valve connected to a fluid control circuit for operating one of the hydraulic shifting actuators employed in the transmission.
Heretofore, such solenoid operated transmission shift control valves have been mounted to the hydraulic manifold in the transmission by means of separate fasteners, such as bolts, passing through retaining brackets received over the individual solenoid operated valves. This arrangement has provided sufficient retention of the valve on the manifold; however, the arrangement has required the necessity of providing separate fasteners for the assembly process and has required additional tools to engage the bolts and to provide the appropriate bolt installation torque. Thus, the operation of installing solenoid operating shift control valves on an automatic transmission has been relatively costly for high-volume, automotive mass-production and it has been desired to provide a simplified way or means of mounting the valves and reducing the assembly time and cost.
The present invention provides a solution to the above-described problem of providing a simple and relatively low cost way or means of attaching a solenoid operated hydraulic valve to a manifold or block for controlling flow of hydraulic fluid in passages within the manifold. The present invention utilizes undercut attachment surfaces disposed on provided opposite sides of the cavity in the block into which the valve body is inserted. A generally U-shaped resilient bracket is received over the solenoid with the legs of the U-shaped resiliently engaging the undercut in the manifold by snap action. The U-shaped bracket has tabs formed on the portion engaging the valve to orient the valve body with respect to ports in the manifold; and, a second pair of tabs engages the sides of the undercuts and prevents rotation of the valve once installed on the manifold.